This is the healthiest community in the US. Here’s why…
Kristen Rogers on CNN, Sep 2020
“With its vast mountain ranges, diverse wildlife and clean air, Los Alamos County, New Mexico, has been ranked the healthiest community of 2020.
Located about 40 miles from Santa Fe, the county is home to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which developed the first atomic bombs during World War II. The county received a perfect score for measurements including drinking water quality, affordable housing availability, park access and population with an advanced degree, according to the annual U.S. News Healthiest Communities rankings report published Tuesday.
Los Alamos County also ranked among the best for low racial segregation (No. 3) and low preventable hospital admissions (No. 21).
“A healthy environment is part of what definitely contributes to (Los Alamos County) being a healthy community,” said Los Alamos County Council Chair Sara Scott, who wasn’t involved in the report. “People have the opportunity and the interest in getting out, taking advantage of our mountains, trails, biking, horse-riding (and) golfing.”
Douglas County, Colorado, is the runner-up, followed by Falls Church, Virginia, Broomfield County, Colorado, and Routt County, Colorado. Columbia County, New York, ranked last in the top 500 healthiest communities.
“The Healthiest Communities rankings are a snapshot of how healthy a community is at a period in time,” said Deidre McPhillips, senior data editor at U.S. News & World Report. “This year, it was incredibly important to factor coronavirus into that analysis.”
Though data used to determine the rankings were obtained before the pandemic, new tools used in this year’s report provided Covid-19 data on communities and highlighted the disproportionate impact of the virus on Black and Hispanic communities.
The Healthiest Communities rankings and analysis are based on evaluations of nearly 3,000 communities nationwide for 84 health and health-related measurements in 10 categories, including community vitality, equity, economy, education, environment, food and nutrition, population health, housing, infrastructure and public safety…”
